Summary of findings 1. Medically assisted hydration compared with placebo for adults receiving palliative care.
| Medically assisted hydration compared with placebo for adults receiving palliative care | |||||
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Patient or population: adults aged 18 years and older receiving palliative care Settings: inpatient Intervention: medically assisted hydration Comparator: placebo | |||||
| Outcomes | Illustrative comparative risks* (95% CI) | Relative effect (95% CI) | No. of participants (studies) | Certainty of the evidence (GRADE) | |
| Assumed risk | Corresponding risk | ||||
| Placebo | MAH | ||||
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Quality of life FACT‐G (scale from 0 to 108; higher score = better QoL) Follow‐up: 7 days |
The MD in QoL in the control group was 2.6. | The MD in QoL in the intervention group was 4.10 (from −1.63 lower to 9.83 higher). | ‐ | 93 (1 study) |
⨁◯◯◯ VERY LOW1 |
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Survival Log‐rank analysis Study enrolment to last date of follow‐up or death |
We were unable to estimate HR. There was no clear evidence for an effect. | 93 (1 study) |
⨁◯◯◯ VERY LOW1 | ||
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Adverse events NRS (scale from 0 to 10; lower score = less toxicity) Follow‐up: 2 days |
The mean injection site pain in the control group was 1.75. | The mean injection site pain in the intervention group was 0.35 (from −1.19 lower to 1.89 higher). | ‐ | 49 (1 study) |
⨁◯◯◯ VERY LOW1 |
| The mean injection site swelling in the control group was 1.41. | The mean injection site swelling in the intervention group was −0.59 (from −1.40 lower to 0.22 higher). | ‐ | |||
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*The risk in the intervention group (and its 95% confidence interval) is based on the assumed risk in the comparison group and the relative effect of the intervention (and its 95% CI). CI: confidence interval; FACT‐G: Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy ‐ General; HR: hazard ratio; MAH: medically assisted hydration; MD: mean difference; NRS: numeric rating scale; QoL: quality of life | |||||
| GRADE Working Group grades of evidence High certainty: we are very confident that the true effect lies close to that of the estimate of the effect. Moderate certainty: we are moderately confident in the effect estimate: the true effect is likely to be close to the estimate of the effect, but there is a possibility that it is substantially different. Low certainty: our confidence in the effect estimate is limited: the true effect may be substantially different from the estimate of the effect. Very low certainty: we have very little confidence in the effect estimate: the true effect is likely to be substantially different from the estimate of effect. | |||||
1Downgraded one level for indirectness (studies only included participants with advanced cancer) and two levels for very serious imprecision (the analysis included small studies with wide CIs, including both appreciable benefit and harm).